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- Born
in Burgas on the Black Sea Coast, Zhivka Papancheva is one
of Bulgaria's most famous singers of the Strandzha style.
She is a graduate of Bulgaria's most prestigious musical
training institute, the Filip Kutev Music School in Kotel.
As a student, she was the solo singer exclusively chosen to
represent the music school in festivals, concerts and
competitions. She was already recording for Bulgarian
National Radio/TV during her first year at the school. After
graduation, Papancheva was a teacher at the Kutev Music
School and has had many private singing students. In 1994
the Kutev School honored her by adopting a photograph of
Papancheva and musician Milen Slavov as their official
school emblem.
- As a
child, Papancheva won many singing awards in the Strandzha
Mountains surrounding her father's village of Indzhe Vojvoda,
beginning with best 5 year old singer in Padaloto. Later she
won prizes in nearby areas, including Bosna, Petrova Niva,
and Gramatikovo.
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She was the soloist with the
first-place winning band Zlatna Arpha (Golden Lute) at the
National Wedding Music Competitions in Kurdzhali 1987 and
Stara Zagora 1988, and later participated by invitation in
the Stambolovo and Dulbok Izvor festivals. In 1989 the
national audience awarded her Song of the Month 2nd Place on
TV's "Ot Izvora" program. It was her rendition of the song "Razsurdila
se Babata" that won the 1994 Songwriting Award at the
Chudomirovi Praznici Competition in Kazanluk.
- As
well as being a recognized soloist, Papancheva is trained in
Bulgaria's renowned choral singing techniques. She has sung
in the choirs of the Plovdiv Music Conservatory and Ensemble
Zagore in Stara Zagora. She is highly skilled in the singing
styles of Thrace and the Rhodope Mountains in addition to
her native Strandzha Region. Papancheva has over 50 songs on
file with Bulgarian National Radio, including the
nationally-popular "Kitka ot Strandzha". She has released
three recordings as soloist for Trio Nazdravica, and has
performed countless times on Bulgarian National TV and
Radio.
- In
1999 Papancheva made her first American trip, performing at
UCLA and throughout California. In 2000 she became a
permanent resident of the U.S. Papancheva has been
awarded a Folk Arts Fellowship from the Mississippi Arts
Commission’s Heritage Program for 2002/2003.
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Now an American citizen, Zhivka makes
her home in Portland, Oregon.
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Download songs by
Zhivka! |
| Commnets: |
- "...Zhivka Papancheva is a
bright representative of the new generation of
famous Strandzha singers, one who has her own
character and manner of singing. She
possesses unique style, timbre, vocal technique
and an original voice. I will always
listen to her with great interest and pleasure."
- Tanya Dosseva, Professional
Bulgarian Folk Singer
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- "When I heard the
performance by Milen Slavov and Zhivka
Papancheva, I was astounded at the emotional
depth that their music reached. I
wasn't sure what to expect from Bulgarian
accordion music but I know what to
anticipate from now on. The songs took
me from joy to longing. The music was
fun and intriguing and the duo's performance
was very entertaining."
- Shelley Powers,
Mississippi Arts Commission
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- "...Having worked with
Milen and Zhivka as artist coordinator for
the seventh annual Culture Shock, I can only
give top credits to their professionalism.
More than 500 children and their parents
participated in the event, a day of hands-on
immersion in the arts. Milen and
Zhivka helped fulfill our mission of
demonstrating to families the importance of
the arts in their lives..."
- Lici Beveridge, Jackson
County Arts Council
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